personality Flashcards
what is personality?
personality is the sum of characteristics that make a person unique
what are the 3 levels of personality and what is the order of them?
psychological core, at the base
typical respnses in the middle
role-related behaviour at the top
what does the psychological core include?
the deepest compnent and centrepiece of personality
attitudes and values, interests and beliefs about yourself and self-worth
“real you” not influenced by others
what are typical responses?
ways we learn to adjust to the environment around us or how we usually respond to the world around us
intercation of your psychological core with role-related behaviours
good indicator of your psychological core e.g always responding in a shy manner indicates being an introvert
what is role-related behaviour?
how you act based on what you perceive the social situation to be
most changeable aspect of personality
e.g taking on leadership responsibilities when being a coach but not so much as a student
roles can conflict
dynamic so allows for learning
which is the most stable and internal level of personality?
psychological core
which is the most exeternal and changeable level of personality?
role-related behaviour
why is studying personality structure important in sport?
getting to understand the psychological core of someone through their typical responses is especially good in the long run to know the most effective way to help them and coach them
what are the 5 approaches to understanding personality?
psychodynamic trait situation interactional phenomenological
what is the psychodynamic approach?
behaviour shaped by unconscious constantly changing factors (id, ego and superego)
special emphasis placed on these conflict resolutions in childhood shaping adult personality
person as a whole focused and not trait isolating
little emphasis on environment as all internal
impact of psychodynamic approach on sport psychology?and why?
little impact
focuses predominantly on internal determinants on behaviour and not soical environment
but sometimes appropriate to focus on unconscious determinants of behaviour
what is the trait approach?
personality traits are consistent across different situations so behaviour determined from inside the person and not due to environmental factors
behaviour therefore consistet in different situations
issues with the trait approach
knowing personality traits won’t always predict their behaviour in a situation
e.g angry in sport but not in other situations
what is the situational approach?
behaviour largely determined by situation or environment
observational learning and social reinforcement
minimal effect of personailty traits in a strong environment e.g a mugging
what is the interactional approach?
behaviour determined by both situation and traits as well as by their interaction (both a trait and situational approach)
variables can be independent of each other or interact
most popular approach used by sport psychologists?
interactional approach
Bowers found interaction between person and situation explained twice as many behaviours as traits or situations alone
in terms of measuring behaviour, what does ‘traits’ mean?
an individual’s typical style of behaving
in terms of measuring behaviour, what does ‘states’ mean?
the situation’s effects on behaviour
why should both traits and states be considered to understand and predict behaviour?
even though a trait predisposes someone to act in a certain way, the behaviour doesn’t necessarily occur in all situations
how to measure how someone will behave
trait and state measures
situation-specific measures which combines trait and state into one and more accurately predicts behaviour
what is a measure called when it is directly related to a sporting situation?
sport-specific measure
e.g testing how anxious before a competition instead of before a speech etc
what should be considered when measuring personality and reactions to competitive settings?
fluctuations before and during competitionn
e.g anxiety being higher before a game than during when a team are winning
what does taking an intraindividual approach mean?
determine how someone is feeling compared to how they normally feel and not compared to the norms
e.g someone might normally be really anxious so their anxiety score is low for them but high compared to the norm
what are projective tests?
using pictures or written situations and asking people to project their feelings and thoughts about the materials
BUT often too difficult to score and interpret so better to use a sport-specific test
traits of female athletes compared to non atheletes
independent, assertive, emotionally stable and aggressive
does gender determine personality characteristics of athletes
no
what did Schurr et al. find about the personality traits of athletes vs. non athletes,
athletes in team sports and
athletes in individual sports?
(all male)
no difference between athletes and nonathletes
those in team sports more extroversion, more dependent and less ego strength than nonathletes
those in individual sports more dependent, less anxious and less abstract thinking than nonathletes
team sport less imaginative than individuals
what does Morgan’s mental health model predict?
positive mental health as assessed by POMS scores is directly related to athletic success and high levels of performance
POMS = profile of mood states
what did Morgan mean by the iceberg profile?
iceberg profile of a successful athlete is formed by vigor being above mean and depression, tension, anger, fatigue and confusion are below the mean
(profile looks like an iceberg as all negative traits below surface (population norms) and positive trait above the surface))
what is Type A behaviour characterised by?
strong sense of urgency
excess of competitive drive
easily aroused hostility
which part of type A behaviour has been linked to disease?
easily aroused hostility
likely cause of Type A behaviour?
sociocultural environment e.g parents with high-expectation of performance
why might self-concept be improved by sport and exercise
perception of improved fitness
what is the ACSI and what does it contain?
Athletic Coping Skills Inventory
measure of sport-specific psychological skills
e.g coping with adversity and mental preparation
scoring highly suggests athletes are helped in their performace by their psychological skills
big 5 model of personality components (determine behaviour according to trait approach)
neuroticism extroversion openness to experience agreeableness conscientiousness
what is the phenomenological approach?
behaviour determined by the subjective understanding of traits and situation
how you view yourself and how you view your situation
stressed by current sport psychologists
limitation of the trait approach
behaviour will not always be the same in every situation
e.g competitive but won’t always be if playing against children etc.
limitation of the psychodynamic approach
focuses solely on internal drives determinng behaviur and ignores situational impact
limitation of the situational approach
behaviour won’t always be the same in certain situations
e.g might usually be angry playing football but if kids come to watch then won’t be
are there personality differences between male and female athletes
no, there are no fundamental differences between male and female athletes, particularly elite athletes
what does Morgan’s mental health model show about successful athletes?
that successful athletes had a more positive mental health than non successful athletes
effect of exercise on those with Type A behaviour
alters risk of cardiovascular disease
cognitive difference between elite and non elite ethletes?
coping with adversity
cognitive strategies
mental preparation
positive self-talk
what has Apitzsch found about defense mechanisms in sport?
athletes may use unconcious defense mechanisms such as maladaptive repression to combat anxiety
can learn to deal with these problems through psychotherapy
what are the 2 significant trait continuums in eysenck and eysenck’s personality model?
extroversion vs introversion
stability vs emotionality
how many personality factors are in cattell’s personality inventory?
16 independent factors
which traits in the big 5 model of personality were found in a meta-analysis to be poitively and negatively related to physical activity levels?
positively - extraversion and conscientiousness
negatively - neuroticism
what did Wann and colleagues find about people that identified with a local sports team?
related to psychological well-being as measure by extroversion, openness and conscientiousness
what did allen and colleagues summarise about personality?
related to long-term athletic success
athletes have higher levels of extroversion
team and high risk sport - higher extraversion and lower conscientiousness
what did Bowers find about the interactional approach?
interaction between person and situation could explain twice as many behaviours as traits or situations alone could
what are the two main approaches to understanding personailty used today by sports psychologists?
intercational and phenomenological
what does the Trait Sport Confidence Inventory ask you to indicate?
how you’re generally feeling
what does the State Sport Confidence Inventory ask you to indicate?
how you’re feeling right now
what do situation-specific tests test for?
consider both the situation and personailty (iteractional approach) and aims to test how a particular person will react in a particular situation
predict behaviour more reliably for given situations
what do sport-specific tests test for?
similar to a situation-speceific test but the situation is sport related e.g anxiety before a game not exam
more reliable and valid measures of personailty traits and states in sports contexts
what can sport-specific tests be used for?
coach can use results to advise players on how to build their strengths and reduce/eliminate their weaknesses
can you make inferences about an athletes behaviour and personailty structure based on the results of a psychological test?
no
is it appropriate to give physical education students a clinical personailty test?
no
why is using only psychological tests for team selection an abuse?
tests not accurate enough to be predictive
what should be done before and after a psychological test is given to an athlete?
the purpose of tests,what they measure and how they are going to be used must be said before they are taken
should receive specific feedback to gain insight about themselves after the test
what does Morgan predict about the characteristics of athletes compared to non athletes?
more positive mental health and exhibit iceberg profile
which sport out of wrestling, rowing and running is highest in vigour?
wrestling
how many out of 16 candidates for us mens rowing team was morgan able to correctly predict with POMS
10
how did Renger and Rowley criticise Morgan’s mental health model?
he said it failed to distinguish athletes of varying levels of ability and only separated athletes from non-athletes
accounted for less than 1% of performance variation
how did Terry suggest iceberg profile should be used?
mood changes should be compared to athletes previous moood levels and not wth large-group norms
effect of exercise on Type A behaviour?
reductions in type A behaviour and reductions in cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress
which characteristics did athletes have that made the us gymnastics team?
coped better with anxiety
used internal imagery
more positive self-talk
is the Profile of Mood States a situation-specific sports inventory?
no
what are the 7 subscales on the ACSI?
coping with adversity concentration peaking under pressure goal setting and mental preparation freedom from worry coachability confidenve and achiement motivation
what are the 3 types of perfectionism?
self-oriented perfectionism
socially prescribed perfectionism
other-oriented perfectionism
what is self-oriented perfecionism?
individual sets extremely high standards and stringently self-evaluates
what is socially prescribed perfectionism?
standards set by others
base approval on meeting those standards
what is other-oriented perfectionism?
one holds others to high standards
what are the 4 dimensions of perfectionism?
perceived parental pressure
perceived coach pressure
personal standards
concern over mistakes
what is maladaptive perfectionism and what has it been associated with?
focus on high standards, concern over mistakes and evaluation by others
excessive exercise, poor performace and athletic burnout
what is adaptive perfectionism and what has it been associated with?
focus on high standards but not excessively worried about making mistkes or how others evaluate them
better learning and performance
more adptive goal patterns
when does perfectionism become negative?
if one has poor coping skills
in times of failure
when attainment of standards is needed for self-validation
how much of personailty is genetics based?
60%
